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Chief Executive Officer Lawrence Levy commented, “While Covid-19 hit our industry hard, we moved quickly to protect Ainsworth. We took proactive measures to streamline our overheads and we are securing more flexible financing arrangements to ensure we can endure a protracted downturn. AGT is now well positioned as customers across our major markets look to recover from the effects of the pandemic”.
The group also said executive-level employees “voluntarily” took 20-percent reductions in base salaries for the June quarter, and that had been extended to the September quarter.
The chairman had also “waived” his fees for the June quarter and had agreed to a 20-percent reduction for the September quarter. Other paid directors had taken a 20-percent reduction in fees for the June quarter, which had been extended to the September quarter.
The firm noted in the filing to the Australian Securities Exchange, that a debt facility with Australia and New Zealand Banking Group Ltd was “in the process of being restructured”.
“Customers across all Ainsworth Game’s markets suspended operations from mid-March. Some reopenings of customers’ facilities have occurred since that time, although venues have reduced capital expenditure” due to visitor numbers “being well below pre-pandemic levels,” said the update.
Ainsworth Game’s likely fiscal-year loss excluded “one-off costs”. They involved: a AUD12-million, non-cash impairment charge relating to Latin America; costs related to the Australian federal government’s “JobKeeper” scheme in response to the Covid-19 crisis; and costs associated with the US$26-million acquisition in March of United States-based MTD Gaming Inc.
Thursday’s announcement said Ainsworth Game expected fiscal-year revenues of AUD149 million, a decline of 36 percent versus the prior financial year.
The firm did note however that it anticipated positive adjusted earnings before interest, taxation, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) of AUD2.9 million for the reporting period. Though it said that figure excluded a “one-off impairment charge”.
A further update will be provided with the preliminary unaudited FY20 results, expected to be released to ASX after market close on 27 August 2020. This announcement was authorised for lodgement by the Board of Directors
